Barbie gets distracted

Haven't had a lot of work out of my intern since Pokemon Go got released...

Office comfort

I see you've met my Dalek, Barbie. Yes, we all have a few toys and other office comforts.

Well, I do.

Now I think of it, I do seem to have more toys than anyone.

Barbie gets interrupted again

Ok, Barbie, I know you had your heart set on getting that bug fixed, but there's another interruption.

Our system gets translated into other languages. That means someone has to send the words off to the translators. That's me. Actually, it's the tech writer, but I give them to him.

But today's challenge is, a tester wants to test the translation. But we don't have the words back yet.

So I thought we could make some fake translations, half install them, run a compile, pull out the language files, and then undo all our changes. Then send those files to the tester. Will she work out how to install them, do you think?

Turns out yes, she did. Our tester has a Masters degree.

Were you keeping notes on all those procedures, Barbie? We'll probably have to do this again one day. That's right, keep those devices charged.

Barbie gets really fixing

So, we've stopped the error message. Problem solved? Nope, we need to work out what that missing code was supposed to do . Or rather, what the original code would have done if we had originally wanted to do the thing we now want to do. Yeah.

 

What should it do? Clue's in the name. It's named along the lines of "verb - noun", so I guess we just have to verb the noun.

Then it will be lunch time. Didn't you bring lunch? I did. But I do like to treat myself to a bought one sometimes. We rather like spicy Asian food around here. And cake.

Barbie, we are NOT having macarons for lunch. Oh, you were thinking of afternoon treats? Well, that's perfectly sensible.

Barbie gets fixing

Ok, Barbie, back to the original question. The problem is, it can't find a piece of code. So we need to either make the code be there, or make it stop looking.

 

Trying the first one … there we go, I've just added an empty thing that doesn't do anything. It means it won't find a gap. Can you test it for me, Barbie?

 

Yes, testing is your job! We test stuff about every five minutes.

Yes I have a lot of pens. I use them to mark up printouts. The different colours help me think. That one's a stylus too.

Barbie handles an interrupt

OK, Barbie, quick interruption. A tester just found an issue in a patch that's about to go out. But the boss suspects it's been there forever, and so do I.  Testers eh? They just test everything!

I've run through the steps. She's right, the thing does happen, but ... is it a problem?

Let's think about that. 

Shh, I'm thinking. That's part of the job. You think too.

Ok, I've thought about it, and I'm pretty sure this is just "interesting behaviour", not a fault.

Oh, look, I've found it on the issue tracking system - it was reported six years ago. By me. I think that proves that nobody will mind. Case closed!

Can you email all that to the boss? Yes, I know he's sitting right there. Official answers go in writing.

Barbie gets caffeinated

You know how I said we drink tea here? Well, at 10.30, we have coffee. That's just how we do it. Bring your reusable cup, the barista knows what I want.

Are you keeping notes on your iPad, Barbie? Good idea. Never know when you'll want to refer back to something. Hot tip - keep your notes in the cloud. Then you can read them from home.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...

No seriously, you'll be able to read the same notes on your phone or laptop if you need to. 

Barbie works on a defect

Now we're getting down to it. Check the issue tracking system - next thing on my dashboard is a defect to fix. Looks like, when we connect one of these things to one of those things, the result isn't stable. Why would that be? Ah, when we wrote it, we never expected to be connecting these with those. OK, let's fix it!

I've recreated the issue - I had to get another developer to help me decipher the user-speak.  Before we go on, let's write out the "steps to reproduce", and add that to the issue tracking system. After we're done, this will go through at least one tester, can't have them waste time. Too.

Barbie gets logged on

First things first. Let's check our emails.

Let's see... New procedures for producing beta releases. Cool. Proposed naming for new classes. We'll review that. Work drinks tonight. Yay! 

Oh, self funded work drinks. Ah well. The other kind is pretty rare.

Barbie starts her day

No, Barbie, we are NOT starting the day with fancy coffee. We drink tea around here, strong, and plenty of it. We're going to have to get you a tea mug.

Nice laptop, by the way.

My new intern

I have a new intern at work. She's a software developer. Well, the box says "Game Developer", but I think she should be doing the real stuff, like me.

She's Barbie! First Barbie I've ever had.

OK Barbie, first we're going to have to get you a desk. You can't sit, so this tissue box will do for now.

And lose the headset, we're here to work.

My links won't load in Facebook on my iPad!

Here, I'll do some trouble shooting for you.

If you

- have an iPad

- use Facebook

- use the Facebook app

... then you might one day see this problem. 

The Problem:

You read a Facebook post, and the person who posted put in a link to something - a joke, a recipe, an article. You click on it. But it takes ages to load. Or it never gets there.

First thing you can do (to get around it today):

- while its trying to open, click on the three dots in the top left hand corner. That opens a little menu, including "Open in Safari". That should work.

Second thing you can do (to stop it happening):

- when you are in the normal Facebook view, click on the down-arrow next to your name. That opens a little menu including "Settings"; choose that

- one of the options is "Browser"; choose that

- there's only one option, "Clear Data". Choosing that seems to fix the problem.

All of this suggests that the Facebook app is not so well behaved. But don't miss out on reading those jokes, recipes and articles!

The Bike to Work project

​Now is a good time to tell you about my New Years resolution - from last year. I set myself the challenge of riding the bike to work 50 times in 2015.

I work four days a week, and it's a very long ride. I CAN ride all the way there and back, but I'm slow and it's a long way (26km each way). So, I have number of ways I can do it, and still get a good work day:

• Some days I rode all the way in, and got a lift home (we have two learner drivers, so they fought for the chance to drive us in on school holidays).
• Some days, Jeff and I put the bikes on the car rack, and drove half way, then rode in and back (12km each way, very nice).
• Some days took the bike on the train for part of the trip home.
• We moved offices, from Collingwood to the city, so now I can also ride to my choice of bike cage (Bicycle Victoria is installing fantastic bike cages at railway stations), lock up there, and train into the city.

There have been challenges.

• Any option that involved the car needed MY car, the one that fits the bike rack. But that's the one Catriona drives too, and she often has evening commitments. So I didn't ride some days.
• In winter it gets dark really early, so some options don't work.
• I don't mind riding in the warm or the cold, and I can manage drizzle and breezes, but rain, extreme heat and strong wind make it too dangerous for me.
• A few days I had early meetings.
• And the odd sick day, and bike-getting-repaired day, cuts out some rides too.

So, it has taken some effort to get to the fifty rides. I've been keeping a spreadsheet.

And I'm pleased to say, I'm nearly there. I've hit 49 rides, and I have just two work days left.

WILL SHE MAKE IT?

Post script. I made it. The next day. Wasn't that hard really!

New coffee quest - day 3

Today we left the building and went in the other direction. A pleasant downhill stroll to "In a Rush", a nice lunch place with the full range of goodies. They have chemistry lab equipment too (I think that's just a requirement now). A range of homely cakes, like the classic hedgehog, as well as fancy stuff. I admired the "open Nutella calzone", which didn't look open, or much like a calzone, but did look tasty.

An artful display of vegies on the counter advertised the very, very green juices they would be prepared to make. Gorgeous salads too.

Coffee came in three sizes, and the large was the big size Jeff normally prefers, at $4.50. The medium was my usual size, at $3.90. And we started a loyalty card.

Generic paper cup here, and now that I know the cup sizes, I will be able to bring my nice reusable cup.

This coffee was good and powerful. Tasted like, hmm, chocolate, and liquorice. Perhaps from Honduras? Oh, alright, I read that on their sign. So, another successful coffee run, and still no favourite selected.

Looking for a new favourite coffee

We've moved into a new office. Instead of the hipster delights of Collingwood, we're now amongst the hustle of the city. Collins street, no less,

And the coffee machine hasn't moved yet (and we do prefer a well made coffee anyway) so the challenge is on. We used to go to the Glassworks Cafe in Gipps st, where a medium latte is actually quite big, costs $3.50, and is well made by the barista who knows what everyone has. Loyalty card, one free in every ten.

So, is there somewhere near the new office to buy coffee?

Ok, it's Melbourne, there's about twelve places inside a minute's walk.

But which is the best? Where will we get delicious, enlivening coffee, from baristas who make us feel welcome? And don't sneer at the thought of making a (gasp) latte?

Will anyone give us a biscuit? Or other treat?

Each day, we've tried a new spot. 

First we try Bonnie Coffee. Friendly welcome. So much scientific apparatus, they obviously make very fancy coffee. Or maybe it's a meth lab. Excellent pastries, possibly just an art installation. The staff work at both sides of the center table, so you can't really tell where to wait. All smiles when we asked for latte. We asked for "large", which is about what we called "medium" until last week. $4.50, plain white paper cup. We introduce ourselves as new to the area. The coffee pusher gives us fizzy water while we wait. Because that's a completely normal thing. 

Bonnie's coffee was delicious, but later in the day, I wondered about a top up. I had tea instead. I know, I know, if you want your coffee strong, don't be drinking latte, but it's what I like.

Second day, we get more adventurous. Down an (almost) spiral staircase into what could only be described as a dungeon, we find Code Black, a properly serious coffee spot. The aroma could sustain you for at least half the day. We order our (gasp) lattes, and tattooed barista is unfazed. She knows that's what lots of people drink. I was amused at someone buying a tiny espresso in a tiny takeaway cup. 

We went for "large" again, still about the size of a Glassworks "medium". $4.20, but there was a happy skull on the cup, so that's a huge plus. Pastries also excellent. We introduced ourselves. They'd already met our IT guys. You know I work in IT, but we have IT guys that make OUR computers work. They are seriously smart IT guys, and they like their coffee. No fizzy water. No other treats.

Code black's coffee definitely sustained me all day. So that's a plus. And, the cup had a funny saying on the other side. But if you want to know what it was, you'll have to go and get one.

So that's the search so far. There will be another one today.

Brrr, it's cool in Melbourne

This was the scene when we parked the car in Collingwood this morning. Frosty frozen leaves, and an icy path going past the station. It warmed up later. I'm using this photo as my desktop at work, though!

Workers' treat

A hard day's work earns you a delicious gelato. Here we are at Gelato Messina enjoying a fabulous cone each.

The IT guys

We invited Jonathan (left) and Thomas to spend three days on work experience at our office. They had work shirts and everything.

What Jeff and Pauline do with their spare time

Last week we found a treasure in the car park near work - a length of optical fibre cable, a bit damaged, and clearly abandoned. It was there for a few days, and finally, we couldn't resist, we took it home.

Today Jeff cut a segment out of it, and peeled away the layers to see what is in it.

The marking on the outside said "Victrack by Corning" and also "12/24". And it's rodent resistant. The system we develop at work involves drawing maps of where cables and other equipment are installed. We don't draw the maps, that's a network designer's job - we write the software that lets them do it. So, we are able to test our software by making up new cable, and new types of cable, but this is the Real Thing.

Here's Jeff peeling away the layers. The black layers are very tough. Cable gets a lot of protection. There's also a tough woven layer.

Here's what's inside. We were surprised. There as two bundles of optical fibres, the orange one and the blue one. He's peeled the orange one to reveal the fibres inside. Each one of them has a coloured sheath too. There are twelve fibres in each of the bundles, so I'm guessing 12/24 means 24 fibres in total, presented in groups of twelve. There is a very tough core, it looks like metal with a white plastic coating. That stops the whole cable from bending too much. Then there are three plastic strands, the size of a bundle of fibres, but just inert plastic. I think this is how they get various cables of different capacity to be the same diameter - pad them with plastic to fill the gaps. They are probably easier to handle if they come in standard diameters.

And here, Jeff has managed to peel the very fine red sheath off one of the actual optical fibres. You can hardly see it, but it's the one with the half-length sheath.




We're taking this wonderful bounty to work tomorrow.

Office cutlery

What cutlery do you keep at your desk at work? Jeff has lots of plastic forks - when they give him one he doesn't need, he can't bring himself to throw it out. I bring my lunch, so I don't face that problem.

This is my armoury - we have a grapefruit spoon, a silver plated tea spoon (for the tea caddy, not for stirring), and a grapefruit knife. Oh, I suppose I use regular spoons and forks from the kitchen too, but they are not as photogenic.